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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29771391">the way home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/laptopheroine/pseuds/laptopheroine'>laptopheroine</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shadowhunters (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:07:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,532</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29771391</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/laptopheroine/pseuds/laptopheroine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A year ago, Clary Fairchild lost the Shadow World, and her memories of it. A year ago, Jace Herondale lost the love of his life. This is her way home.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clary Fray &amp; Isabelle Lightwood, Clary Fray &amp; Simon Lewis, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>Simon</strong><br/>Jace doesn’t look at Simon when he speaks. “Look. Love is different for Shadowhunters. We only love once and when we do, it’s everything. So when I tell you there is no one else-'' His head lifts from the weapons he’s put away to meet Simon’s eyes. “There will never be anyone else. There can’t be.” </p>
<p>Simon asks Izzy about it later that night. “Is it true? The whole Shadowhunters-only-loving-once thing?”<br/>She nods, shuffles closer to trace a pattern on his arm. “We’re still human, we have emotions and urges and stuff. But the Angelic part of us, it’s pure. It means that when we love someone, it’s forever.”<br/>“So is it. . . predestined? This thing?”<br/>“No, it’s not like that. We have a choice, it just means that that choice is, you know, <em>it</em>.”<br/>“So, are we- am <em>I-</em>” His voice comes out tight and shaky. <br/>She smirks. “You are the only person besides my family and Clary who has ever seen me without makeup. You think I’d let just anyone see that?”<br/>He laughs. “I love you, too.”<br/>As he kisses her, he avoids the obvious questions.<br/><em>What happens to a Shadowhunter when their one love is gone?</em><br/><em>How does Jace come back from this?</em></p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p><strong>Jace</strong><br/>He knows he shouldn’t go to her art show, but he also knows he couldn’t stop himself if he tried. Regardless of whether she has her memories or not, she’s <em>Clary</em>. The love of his life. And if this is all he gets for the rest of his life, stolen moments watching her while her eyes skate past his glamoured face, then he’ll take it.<br/>But her eyes don’t skate past this time. This time, she looks directly at him and <em>talks</em>. He finds himself running out of the gallery, but when she follows him, yells at him, he knows he’s helpless.<br/>She says his name, and it is the best thing he has ever heard. She touches his neck and he feels like he’s home. <br/>They begin talking in that alley. Jace couldn’t tell you what about. He is too busy looking into her bright eyes and trying not to melt at her touch. She moves her hand from his neck. He feels the absence like an ache.<br/>A woman sticks her head out of the door of the gallery and calls out Clary’s name. Clary turns back to face him. “Sorry, I have to go finish up.” Her head tilts as she continues to stare at him. “I cannot for the life of me remember where I know you from.”<br/>He’s asking the question before he can stop himself. “Do you wanna have dinner with me tomorrow?”<br/>She smiles, a bit of surprise on her face. She’s clearly trying to figure him out, but she hasn’t yet. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. Here, let me give you my number.”</p>
<p>They meet at a little Chinese place near her school. He’s told Izzy and Simon that he’s taking the night off, something they both encourage. He knows why; he’s seen the pitying expressions when they think he isn’t looking. <br/>The dumplings are nowhere near as good as the Jade Wolf’s, but the conversation is good and the company is better. Jace can’t help but smile at the tiny dagger pendant on Clary’s necklace, and the switchblade he sees tucked in her purse. Clearly, you can take the girl out of the Shadowhunters, but you can’t take the Shadowhunter out of the girl. <br/>Jace tells Clary about his adopted family, his life as a ‘martial arts instructor’ and ‘security guard’. “My favourite student’s an idiot, but I have to admit he’s not as bad as he used to be,” he chuckles. Clary leans her body towards him in the small booth. When she smiles, he feels like he’s won the lottery.<br/>In return, she tells him about her life. When he asks about her family, not because he wants to but because he knows she’s expecting it, her gaze leaves his for the first time all night. “I don’t have any,” she says. “I lost a year. Don’t know what happened. When I woke up, I found out that my mom was dead. My stepfather and best friend, too. Car accident.”<br/>“Oh Clary, I’m sorry.”<br/>“It’s fine. I mean, it’s not, but I’ve moved on. Or I’m trying to, at least.” Her eyes flit to the ring on the chain around his neck. “You must know something about that.”<br/>He picks it up absently. “Yeah, I do.”</p>
<p>He offers to walk her home. “What a gentleman,” she says sarcastically, but agrees anyway. Judging by her switchblade, it’s a great act of trust. She takes his arm while they walk and leads him up a rickety staircase to her apartment. It’s tiny, like every apartment in Brooklyn. But there’s beauty in it, too. Moonlight streams through a high window by her bed, and an easel sits in the corner with an unfinished painting on it. He knows, even if she doesn’t, that it’s of Alicante. Glasslike spires reaching towards the night sky, surrounded by an abstract forest. She catches him staring at it. “I still have no idea why I painted that one,” she says, moving to stand beside him. “But I feel like it needs light, right here.” She points at one corner of the painting, where Lake Lyn would be. <br/>He has a sudden memory of waking up, Raziel’s angelic light fading as Clary collapsed beside him.<br/>He realises he hasn’t responded to her. “Well, either way, it’s beautiful.”<br/>“Thanks.” She smiles wryly, and he is reminded suddenly of why this is a terrible idea. <br/>He has lost her twice already.<br/>If she dies because of him, he doesn’t think he’ll survive it.<br/>So he takes a step back. “It’s getting late, I should go.”<br/>Her face falls a little, but she recovers quickly. “Okay. Goodnight, Jace.”<br/>He takes one last look at her before he leaves her apartment. “Goodnight, Clary.”</p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>Clary is getting ready for class the next morning when she feels an icy burn on her wrist. She looks in numb shock as a mark appears, lit up like a flame before fading to black. The design is familiar. Her fingers itch to draw it.<br/>Jace. She needs to call Jace. She doesn’t know why, but she needs to. <br/>“Hello?”<br/>“Something’s- I don’t- there’s this <em>thing</em> on my wrist-”<br/>“Hey, relax, everything’s gonna be fine. Where are you?”</p>
<p>He arrives less than ten minutes later. Clary is standing in the middle of her living room, a dazed expression on her face. For a second, he forgets why he’s here, because her feet are bare and her makeup is only halfway done and it reminds him of so many times he sat on her bed, watching her get ready.<br/>But he remembers quickly, because while he’s staring at her he notices her wrist.<br/>Her wrist, where the angelic power Mark sits. <br/>Her eyes meet his. “Jace?”<br/>He reaches for her, but before he can say anything, a blinding light fills the room. </p>
<p><em>My children,</em> Ithuriel says. Do not be afraid.<br/>“What-” Jace begins to say. Clary looks like she might faint. <br/><em>Clarissa Fairchild. Raziel has taken from you the angelic power with which you have been blessed. But his is not the only angelic blood that runs through your veins. He is not the one who has given you your gifts.</em><br/>“Lilith killed you,” Clary murmurs. “I saw it.”<br/>Jace is too in awe to realise that she remembers this.<br/><em>She merely returned me to Heaven. I recovered, but by that time Raziel had already punished you. His pride overtook his duty to the Nephilim. You did not deserve that. </em><br/>He turns to Jace. <em>Nor you, Jace Herondale.</em> He dips his head, something that might be a smile on his benevolent face. <em>I heard your prayers. Indeed, you were correct. Your love is stronger than Raziel’s spite.</em> Ithuriel reaches out a hand to draw a Mark on Clary’s forehead that glows gold for a second before disappearing. <em>This is the Mark of Ithuriel. As long as you shall live, Clarissa Fairchild, no angel may harm you. You are under my protection. I return to you your memories and your gifts, as a Nephilim and as my blood. Be well, my child.</em><br/>With that, he disappears, returning the room to its dim state.  </p>
<p>It takes Jace a second to realise that Clary has fallen to her knees. Marks appear on her skin in flashes of gold. Once the final one returns, the <em>iratze</em> on her neck, she stands. She lifts her head to look at him. “Jace.” She puts a hand to his cheek. Tears fill her eyes. “<em>Jace</em>,” she says again. She presses a kiss, soft and firm and everything in between, to his lips.<br/>There are no words.<br/>None, except ‘I love you’.<br/>Jace leans his forehead against hers and takes his first full breath in a year. It feels like coming home.</p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>She blinks, takes a step back. “Wait a minute. Luke, and Simon- they’re not dead?”<br/>He shakes his head. “Luke’s been fully reinstated as a Shadowhunter, and Simon is one of our Downworlder agents.”<br/>“Sorry, Downworlder <em>what</em>?”<br/>He chuckles. “There’s a lot to catch you up on. Why don’t I take you to the Institute and tell you everything.”<br/>She lets out a long breath. “That sounds. . . really, really good.”<br/>He offers her his stele. Smiling, she takes it and draws the Portal rune, the motion flowing easily. She takes his hand and steps into the Institute.</p>
<p>It is not how she remembers. There are Downworlders training with Shadowhunters, warlocks using their magic, vampires using their speed. The bustle is the same, though; people congregating around the monitors or marching through the halls with seraph blades, ready for the hunt. And in the midst of it all is Isabelle, directing people with all the grace and authority of a queen. <br/>Clary feels a sudden pang of longing for her. <br/>“Izzy!” Jace shouts, calling her attention to them. <br/>Her eyebrows raise. She takes tentative steps down the staircase and stops in front of them. Regaining her composure, she ignores Clary and faces Jace. “What the hell is she doing here?” she demands. <br/>“It’s okay, Iz, I’ve got my memories back.” Clary holds out her arms so she can see the runes inked into her skin.<br/>Immediately, her expression changes. She pulls Clary into a tight hug. “<em>How?</em>”<br/>“Ithuriel,” Jace says. “He appeared and blessed her with his own Mark. Gave back everything Raziel took from her.”<br/>She laughs an incredulous laugh. “We gotta tell Simon. We’ve gotta get Alec-”<br/>“Izzy, relax,” Clary laughs. “We’ve got time.”<br/>Jace winds an arm around her waist. “Yeah, we do.”</p>
<p>Izzy contacts the rest of their little family. Simon arrives first, dashing through the doors of the Institute and landing with a jolt in Izzy’s office. His eyes are wild and frantic before they settle on Clary’s. “Fray?” he says in a shaky voice. <br/>“Hey, Si.” Clary smiles tearfully. <br/>He squeezes her tight. “This is incredible.”<br/>A Portal opens up in the middle of the room, out of which step Alec and Magnus from Alicante. Magnus beams. “Biscuit,” he says, hugging her gently. “So glad you’re home.”<br/>Alec smiles, throws an arm around her shoulder. “We missed you.” <br/>“How is this even possible?” Simon asks. “I thought no one could challenge the will of the Angel.”<br/>“No one but another Angel, apparently,” Clary says. “I might have Raziel’s blood, but I have Ithuriel’s too.”<br/>“He did not take kindly to what Raziel did,” Jace says. Before he can explain, the door swings open, revealing the only parent Clary has left.<br/>She rushes towards him and suddenly she’s in his arms, enveloped in the big bear hug that always made her feel safe when she was little.<br/>“Hey, kiddo,” he says in a wet voice. <br/>“Luke,” she sobs.<br/>He pulls away, revealing Maryse beside him. She smiles warmly, takes Clary’s hands in her own. “So the Angels do forgive after all,” she says.<br/>“Looks that way.”<br/>She squeezes her hands. “I’m so glad.”<br/>She isn’t Clary’s mother. She’s not even close. But she’s here, and it’s clear that she loves the rest of Clary’s family.<br/>And that means everything.<br/>Clary hugs her. “Thank you for taking care of them while I was gone,” she murmurs.<br/>“I was returning the favour.”</p>
<p>The day is spent catching Clary up on everything she’s missed in the Shadow World. She tells them about her mundane life, too; her classes at the Academy, how she’s sold nearly all of her paintings from this year’s assignments. <br/>“The one you did of our wedding is hanging up at home,” Magnus says. “It’s my favourite thing in the apartment.”<br/>Clary smiles softly. “Guess my work isn’t as abstract as I thought.” <br/>“I suppose you’ll want to go back to it,” Izzy says. “Your mundane life.” She fidgets with her ruby bracelet.<br/>Clary reaches over to squeeze her hand. “I have my family back. I get to draw runes and fight demons again. My mundane life was nice, but it wasn’t real. There was always something missing. Besides,” she smirks, “you and I have plans.”<br/>“What plans?” Simon asks.<br/>Izzy turns to Alec. “Inquisitor, I am officially requesting leave so Clary and I may undergo the <em>parabatai</em> ceremony.”<br/>The reaction is instantaneous, and wonderful. Alec scoops both Izzy and Clary in a hug. Maryse claps her hands in joy. Jace and Simon shoo Alec away so they can hug their girlfriends. </p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>By the time the day is done, Clary is tired but happy. She showers and heads for Jace’s room, where he sits on the bed. He gets up to hug her. She sinks into it.<br/>“I can’t believe this is really happening,” he murmurs into her hair. “This is all I’ve wanted for a year, and now you’re here with me.” He pulls back. “Are you sure it’s what you want? Izzy was right, you have a life in the mundane world. That shouldn’t be taken from you for a second time.”<br/>“I meant what I said, Jace. That life was a half-life. This is where I belong. Who I am.” Emotion wells up in her, and without warning, she feels like crying.<br/>Jace, of course, notices. He looks at her that way he does, like he can see right to her soul. “You okay?” he asks.</p>
<p>When she first lost her memories, waking up in Central Park wearing a cocktail dress and a tearstained face, she was asked if she was okay all the time. When she was found by a police officer. When she didn’t know where she’d been or even what day it was. But after she was returned to her mother’s charred, empty loft with the assumption that she’d simply had a minor head injury, it was clear there was no one to care for her. She’d been told that Luke, her mother and Simon were dead. She was eighteen - nineteen now, she’d missed a birthday - so she wasn’t the state’s problem. She had no one to look out for her but herself. And she muddled her way through. She met with the Brooklyn Academy of Art to officially enrol. She found an apartment that she could afford on what little savings she had until she found a part-time job. She became friendly with her classmates. <br/>But no one took care of her.<br/>No one worried when she didn’t come home till one in the morning, or brought her back to reality when she lost herself sketching. No one gave her medicine when she woke up after two days of fever-induced delirium. And when she had nightmares, made all the more terrifying by the fact that she didn’t know what they were about, there was no one to soothe her fears away. <br/>But here she is. Home, with a family that for the past year she didn’t know existed. A family that loves her and cares about her and wants to make sure she’s okay..<br/>So Clary cries, and Jace holds her.<br/>She’s home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>IMPORTANT: in this story, Jace didn’t kill Imogen, but everything else happened as normal. She retired from being Inquisitor following Jace’s possession and now lives in Alicante advising the Council while Alec has taken her place.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Jace wakes up, it’s to his favourite view in the world. Clary is curled into his side, her head on his chest.<br/>She’s been home a few months now, and has slowly gotten back into the swing of things. She’s living at the Institute again, where she belongs. She and Izzy have been training to become <em>parabatai</em>, but Jace knows it’s a formality more than anything else. They’re closer than sisters. They’re ready.<br/>And Jace is ready, too, for what he has to do today.<br/>He hopes he is, at least.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>Simon is already in the training room waiting for Jace when he walks in, wearing jeans, a T-shirt and his leather jacket. The only weapon on him is a seraph dagger, tucked into his holster by his stele. “You’re on time,” he remarks. “You’re improving, bloodsucker.”<br/>“Yeah, and you’re clearly not. Where’s your gear?” <br/>“I’m taking a personal day. Just stopped by to let you know who my substitute is.”<br/>“Who?”<br/>“Me.” Clary saunters in, twirling a bo staff in each hand. She tosses one to him.<br/>“Oh, this is gonna be awesome.” Simon grins. “Finally, someone I can beat.”<br/>“Hey!”<br/>“I’m just saying, you’ve been gone a year. Your rusty skills are no match for this master.”<br/>Jace scoffs. “Master? You’ve been training for four months and it took two of those for you to land a decent punch. Clary’s gonna eat you alive.” He kisses the side of her head with a murmured goodbye and a ‘behave’ hollered at Simon on his way out.<br/>Clary wastes no time in aiming a well-placed hit to Simon’s stomach. He fights back, but it’s clear he is no match for her. They spar for a good twenty minutes before Simon declares he needs a break. <br/>“Hey, you’re pretty good for someone who’s only just started training again. I mean, you’re no match for Vamp Jackie Chan over here, but. . .”<br/>“Tell that to your bruises,” she smirks, before her expression turns serious. “Um, I got attacked and robbed, about a month after I lost my memory. I tried to fight back, but there were three of them. I woke up in the hospital the next morning and I promised myself that I would never feel that powerless again. So as soon as I recovered I signed up for an MMA gym. I’ve been going every day since.”<br/>Simon drops the bo staff. “Oh, Clary.”<br/>“Eh. Not the worst thing that’s happened to me.” <br/>“As far as you knew, it was. You must’ve been terrified.” He pulls her into a hug. “I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m sorry you had to go through it alone.”<br/>Her gaze drifts to some point in the distance. “I didn’t sleep for days. When I did I’d have nightmares.” She shakes her head, almost as if to rid herself of the memory, and smiles. “But I’m home now, and I’m kicking your ass. Ready for another round?”</p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Jace has asked Catarina to make him a Portal to Idris. He doesn’t have Clary do it; his task today is much too secret, and the days of obtaining Clave permission for those are long gone - if Alec is too busy to officially approve it, Magnus will - so Jace steps through the Portal and into the heart of Alicante. He could’ve gone directly to his destination, but Alicante will always be his first home, and he likes walking through its streets, if he has the time. <br/>Soon, he has arrived at Imogen’s apartment. They still don’t know each other very well - Shadowhunter duties do not leave much time for family reunions - but he does call her every now and again, and whenever she is in New York she makes a point to have dinner with him. It is only polite that he tells her of his plans. He nods at her security team and knocks on the door.<br/>“Jace,” she says. She stands to give him a hug. “So good to see you. How are you?”<br/>“I’m good. Yeah. Uh, I actually came here to tell you something.”<br/>“Is everything all right?”<br/>“Everything’s great.” He fiddles with his stele for a moment. “I want to propose to Clary.”<br/>Imogen Herondale may not be the Inquisitor anymore, and hasn’t been for over six months, but she has not lost the formidable stance that has terrified so many rogue Shadowhunters in the past. Her expression shifts into a knowing smile. “That’s why you’re so nervous.”<br/>“What? I’m not-”<br/>“Your father acted the same way when he told me he wanted to propose to Céline.”<br/>Jace’s fingers grasp at the Herondale ring, the same way it always does when his family is mentioned. “He did?”<br/>“Oh yes, he was terrified.” She chuckles. “He had nothing to worry about, of course; your mother loved him with everything she had. You don’t have anything to worry about, either.”<br/>“Really?” <br/>“Clary’s a smart girl, Jace. She knows what she wants. If you weren’t it, you wouldn’t be together.” <br/>He smiles, almost to himself. Clary does know what she wants. It’s one of the things that drew him to her in the first place. “Thank you, Im- Grandma.”<br/>Calling Imogen ‘Grandma’ is a recent development, and one that still makes Jace feel a little awkward, but the soft smile on her usually imperious face is worth it. “I have something for you.” She disappears into her bedroom for a moment before returning with a thin velvet box, which she opens. Inside is a delicate silver chain, at the end of which sits a pendant; an iridescent opal, carved into a delicate teardrop. <br/>“Your father gave this to your mother as an engagement gift,” Imogen says quietly. “I had offered him the bracelet that had been passed down in our family, but he told me no. He said he wanted to give her love, not custom.” A tear rolls down her cheek. She closes the box and offers it to him. “I know he would love nothing more than for you to give the same to Clary.”<br/>Jace’s voice trembles. “Thank you.” </p>
<p>When he is finished with Imogen, he takes the short walk to the Council building, where he knows Alec will be in his office. Alec grins when Jace comes through the door. “I knew you were nearby,” he says, getting up from his desk to give his <em>parabatai</em> a hug. “What’s going on? I’ve been getting some weird feelings from you.”<br/>Jace smiles wryly. “I’m gonna propose to Clary.”<br/>“What? That’s incredible, congratulations!”<br/>“Hold on, she hasn’t said yes yet.”<br/>“She will.” Alec hugs him again, almost as if he can’t help it. “I’m so happy for you, Jace. You two deserve this, after everything you’ve been through.”<br/>“You don’t think it’s too soon?”<br/>“You realise you’re asking the guy who got married less than two days after he got engaged.”<br/>“Fair point.”<br/>“Look, you and Clary aren’t normal people, even for Shadowhunters. You have fought off her evil family, Lilith. . . Hell, you defied the will of Raziel and won. You guys are as grown up as it gets. You’re ready.”<br/>“Thanks, man.”<br/>“Of course. FYI, I’m expecting that <em>suggennes</em> invitation any day now.”<br/>He grins. “Can’t you let me ask her first?”</p>
<p>Next, he goes to Luke, who is staying in Alicante for a few days between assignments. He heads to Luke’s sister’s house and knocks on the door. He’s glad that it’s Luke and not Amatis who answers it. <br/>“Jace.” He appears happy, if a little puzzled, to see him. “What are you doing here?”<br/>“Hey, Luke. Can we talk?”<br/>“Sure, come on in.”<br/>Jace and Luke sit down in the living room. They make small talk for a few minutes before Luke stops. “Okay, you look like you’re about to wet yourself. What’s going on?”<br/>“I want your blessing,” he blurts.<br/>“What?”<br/>“I want to ask Clary to marry me. And I am asking for your blessing.”<br/>Luke pulls out his stele, fiddles with it for a moment. “Jace, I have known Clary all her life. I have watched her learn, and grow, and you know what I’ve seen?”<br/>“What?” <br/>“You. Ever since you met her, you were there for her. You were there when I couldn’t be and when I should’ve been. Even when she didn’t know who you were, that didn’t stop you. And seeing her now, I know she is happier than she’s ever been. That’s thanks to you.” He smiles widely. “I can think of no better person for her to spend the rest of her life with.”</p>
<p>Finally, he leaves Alicante, courtesy of Magnus, and heads to a bench in Central Park. It isn’t anywhere near Jocelyn’s grave - that’s back in Alicante - but it is where Clary goes to remember her. She’s told him stories of her mother taking her there to feed the ducks when she was little. He sits down, glamoured of course, and talks. It turns out he has a lot to say to Jocelyn Fairchild. The woman who he once thought was his mother. Who died thinking he was her son. But the most important thing that he needs to talk to her about is her daughter, and how much he loves her.</p>
<p> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>When he gets home, it’s midafternoon. Clary is lying facedown on his bed, sketching. Since her return, she has made a habit of hanging out in his room even when he’s not there. It always sends a little jolt of happiness through him to see her there when he opens the door. <br/>She smiles when he comes in. By the Angel, he loves her smile.<br/>“Hey, you.” He sits beside her and presses a kiss to her cheek. “How was Simon?”<br/>“Good, he’s learning a lot. He’s still not ready, but it’s kind of nice that he doesn’t have to go straight into the field like I did, you know?”<br/>“Yeah. I’m pretty sure Alec had an aneurysm when you went to a vampire den twenty minutes after learning how to use a seraph blade.”<br/>She chuckles. “How was your day off?”<br/>“Good.”<br/>She shifts her weight so she can lean against him as she draws. He peers over her shoulder at the sketch, smiling softly when he realises it’s of Pandemonium, with himself, Izzy, and Alec gliding through the blurred crowd. He takes a second to appreciate the domesticity of the moment. <br/>Domesticity they can have for the rest of their lives, as soon as he figures out how to ask her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Isabelle Lightwood has always been a woman with a plan. And right now, her plan is clearly to march up to Jace and slap him in the face, because that’s what she does. <br/>“Ow!” he whines, rubbing at his cheek. “The hell was that for?”<br/>“You, Jace Herondale, are an ass.” She lowers her voice to a hiss. “Why did I have to hear from Alec that you were gonna propose to Clary? I’m her <em>parabatai</em>, I deserve to know.”<br/><em>Dammit, Alec</em>. He gossips more than Magnus. “Okay, first of all, I was on my way to tell you right now, and second, you’re not <em>parabatai</em> yet.”<br/>“Details.” She flaps her hand. “So. Have you got a gift yet? Have you asked Luke’s permission? How’re you gonna do it?”<br/>“Yes, yes, and not a clue.”<br/>“By the way, I told Simon.”<br/>“Wha- dammit, Iz-”<br/>“What are you guys talking about?” Clary asks, walking up to them.<br/>Terror shoots through him, but thankfully Izzy is much smoother. She turns to Clary and says something about their next mission. The Clave has finally allowed Clary to return to the field after her time away, and Jace can see the anticipation building in her bones. He’s watched her train all day every day, practising with her kindjals until they move like extensions to her arms. <br/>She grins. “When do we leave?”</p>
<p>The mission is normal, for once. Jace, Clary and Izzy head out to Bushwick to track down a Ravener demon that has already killed a mundane. It feels like the good old days, except Alec isn’t with them, and when they need to enlist the werewolves’ help in tracking it down, it’s Maia they talk to, not Luke.<br/>They’re running through an alleyway in the pouring rain, having finally found the demon. Clary stands with her stele ready, eyes lit up with the thrill of the hunt, and realises how much she’s missed this. They corner the demon, Izzy with her whip and Jace with his seraph blade, while Clary draws a rune on her hand. Sunlight bursts from it, killing the demon instantly. She turns to the other two with a breathless smile on her face.<br/>“Welcome back,” Jace says.</p>
<p>When they return to the Institute, Izzy claims she and Clary need girl time. She gives Jace a pointed look as she walks away, dragging Clary along. <br/><em>Okay,</em> Jace thinks. <em>How the hell am I gonna propose</em>.</p>
<p>An hour later, that’s still all he’s come up with. He decides he needs help, and since Izzy is currently distracting Clary, he calls the next best person. <br/>Simon. <br/>Simon gets there twenty minutes later. Honestly, he should be living in the Institute by now, what with working there <em>and</em> dating the head, but he’s dug in his heels whenever Jace, Clary or Izzy have recommended it. Personally, Jace thinks it’s because Simon’s carved out a nice little identity as a Downworlder, even with his status as both a Daylighter and a trainee at the Institute. Moving into the Institute would be another reason why he doesn’t belong in his own community.<br/>Simon comes into Jace’s room with a goofy grin plastered on his face. “So I hear you’re gonna propose to Clary,” he says, raising an eyebrow in what Jace thinks is supposed to be a suggestive gesture.<br/>“Yep. And I haven’t got a damn clue how to do it.”<br/>“Okay. Well, you could go classic, take her to a restaurant, ring in the champagne glass.”<br/>“Simon,” Jace says in an exasperated tone. “I think we learned our lesson the last time I asked you for restaurant recommendations.”<br/>“Fair point. Uh, there’s this one spot in the park where she likes to sketch, you could do it there?”<br/>“That sounds <em>boring</em>. Come on, Simon, this is the most important thing I’m gonna do in my life, it has to be special.” Jace fidgets with a small dagger, flipping it between his fingers. Simon wonders how he manages to do it without cutting himself.<br/>“Okay, what do you guys like to do together? You know, like what’s your <em>thing?</em>”<br/>“Fighting.”<br/>Simon has to check Jace’s expression to see if he’s joking. He’s not. <br/>“We’re Shadowhunters, what did you expect? Sure, we go on dates, but the majority of our time together is spent on the-” He thinks of her sketch the other day. Pandemonium. “The hunt.”<br/>An idea begins to take shape.</p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>Three days later, Clary is hanging out with Simon at Taki’s when Izzy calls her and says she needs to come to the Institute. So she Portals herself there, landing in the middle of the ops centre with a <em>whoosh</em>. “Gear up,” Izzy says. “We’ve got reports of a Drevak demon taking a victim somewhere in Brooklyn. Last seen around Ash and Melrose.” <br/>“Where’s Jace?” Clary asks.<br/>“Already out there.”<br/>Clary nods. In less than five minutes she’s armed herself and Portaled to the intersection. There doesn’t seem to be much debris left in the wake of the demon’s attack, just some broken glass and a bit of ichor. But she finds, beside the remains of a broken bottle clearly used as a weapon, a scrap of cloth. It’s enough to track with. </p>
<p>Because Clary can’t Portal while tracking, it takes her a good twenty minutes to reach her destination. She realises she’s at Pandemonium, which, without Magnus to run it, has become little more than a light-up sign and a few people milling about the entrance, though no one is milling around the entrance tonight. In fact, the whole place is completely empty. There is no demon, and no victim. Clary quickly realises who the cloth belongs to.<br/>Jace stands near the entrance, a shy smile on his face. He walks up to meet her, taking her hands and walking her a few feet forward and two steps to the left. <br/>“Jace, what’s going on?” she asks.<br/>He takes a deep breath. She can almost feel it in her own lungs. “You were standing right about here when I first met you,” he says. “You were mad at me because I bumped into you and didn’t apologise.”<br/>She chuckles. “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to see you.”<br/>“You were the only person that saw me. You’re still the only person that sees me.” Tears fill his eyes. “Clary, I love you. I love your strength, your kindness, and the way that you would literally go to Hell and back for your family. Since the day we met, I have not been able to imagine my life without you, and I don’t want to. So, Clarissa Adele Fairchild,” he pulls out the necklace from his pocket, “will you marry me?”<br/>Clary smiles. The tears that have threatened to spill since he started talking fall down her cheeks. “Yes,” she says. <br/>It’s never been a word he’s had any particular feeling towards.<br/>But right now, those three little letters form the best thing he has ever heard.</p>
<p>Jace isn’t sure who kisses who, but he knows that by the time it’s over they are both breathless. With trembling hands, he clasps the necklace around Clary’s neck. Jace leans down so he can rest his forehead against hers. She closes her eyes for a second, smiling blissfully. “I don’t think I have ever been this happy,” she murmurs.<br/>“You and me both,” he says.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Izzy laughs at something stupid Simon has said while he twirls her around beneath the stars. Never let it be said that Magnus Lightwood-Bane does not know how to throw a party. He has put wards around a secluded spot in Central Park, enchanted the trees to bloom bright, colourful flowers, and put on a feast that would rival any royal banquet. Downworlders and Shadowhunters alike are dancing, laughing, talking. <br/>And in the centre are Jace and Clary, dancing together as if they are the only two people there. Izzy’s not sure she’s ever seen Jace smile this much in his life. <br/>As for Clary?<br/>Her best friend is more radiant than she has ever seen her. <br/>She’s almost glad they’re not <em>parabatai</em> yet; that much happiness would surely overwhelm her.</p>
<p>After a while, Luke cuts in to dance with Clary, so Jace heads off the dance floor to talk to Simon and Izzy. <br/>“Oh, man, look at your face,” Simon laughs. “You are so whipped.”<br/>“Says the guy whose girlfriend has an <em>actual</em> whip.”<br/>“Touché.”<br/>“I can’t believe you’re getting <em>married</em>,” Izzy says. “I remember when you were fifteen and went around calling yourself a ‘lone wolf’.”<br/>“Are we telling embarrassing Jace stories?” Alec asks, appearing out of nowhere with Magnus by his side. “Because I have so many.”<br/>Jace groans. “Oh no.”<br/>“Oh yes.” Simon grins. <br/>Izzy swats Jace’s arm lovingly. “Hey, if your siblings can’t make fun of you at your engagement party, when can they?”<br/>Thankfully, Jace is spared the total humiliation of Alec telling any number of ‘Jace is an idiot’ stories, because fireworks begin to burst above their heads. Jace looks for Clary out of instinct, and just as he does, she weaves through the crowd to slot herself under his arm. He presses a kiss to the side of her head. <br/>Izzy watches them with a knowing smile.</p>
<p>At one point, Alec drags Jace away, presumably for an oddly intimate <em>parabatai</em> moment, so Clary floats between the guests. Their engagement party is a little more political than she would like - that’s what happens when the only pure angel-blooded Nephilim in the world get engaged - but Clary’s been part of this world for over a year now. She’s pretty sure she can handle making small talk with a few high-ranking Shadowhunters. <br/>At least, she thinks so, until Imogen approaches her.<br/>Despite the fact that she is Jace’s grandmother, Clary is terrified of her. So far, their interactions aside from Imogen’s stint in New York have consisted of a single awkward dinner, during which she was pretty sure Imogen was trying to figure out how to bribe Jace to break up with her. Jace always says that she’s being ridiculous, of course his grandmother loves her, but Clary’s not so sure.<br/>“Imogen,” she says, painting on a polite smile. “So nice to see you.”<br/>They stand there awkwardly for a moment before Imogen clears her throat. “I wanted to say something to you.” Clary has a sudden image in her head of Imogen reaching out to claw the necklace off her neck. Thankfully, that is not what happens.<br/>“I’m sorry,” she says, “for how I’ve treated you in the past. Valentine may be your father but you are <em>not</em> his daughter. You are strong, a loyal Shadowhunter.” Imogen’s eyes dart to the necklace sitting at Clary’s sternum. “And you love Jace. Enough to have used the One Wish to save him.” She takes her hand. “That tells me more about you than any of your relatives ever could.”<br/>This time, Clary’s smile is genuine. “Thank you, Imogen. That means a lot.”</p>
<p>It’s at least another two hours before she gets to see Jace again. The party has finally wound down. Everyone except their family has left. Clary is sitting down on the grass, legs stretched in front of her and shoes off. She doesn’t know how Izzy does it all day every day. She’s been wearing heels for a single evening and she never wants to wear them again. <br/>Jace plonks down beside her, lazily threading his fingers through hers. “I never want to talk to another Clave official again,” he groans.<br/>“Wait till the wedding.”<br/>He groans again.<br/>“I’m sure they’ll all be wanting us to have kids right away to pass on our pure angel blood.”<br/>He laughs, but his expression quickly turns serious. “Do you. . . <em>want</em> kids?”<br/>“Yes,” she says immediately. “But not right now. I’m only twenty, you know? My mom had me pretty young and there was all this stuff she never got to do.”<br/>“I’m pretty sure that was more Valentine’s fault than yours, but I agree. A few years from now, maybe.”<br/>She shuffles closer so they are touching from shoulder to hip, their linked hands on her lap. “How many would you want?”<br/>“More than one. I hated being an only child.”<br/>“Me too. I mean, I wasn’t, but I didn’t know that.”<br/>Neither of them are only children anymore, Clary thinks, as Izzy, Simon, Alec and Magnus join them on the grass. They are quickly followed by Max, who sprawls atop his brothers like a cat. Without letting go of her, Jace ruffles his hair. On her other side, Izzy leans her head on her shoulder.<br/>Clary smiles softly, and wonders how she could have ever felt alone.<br/>Hasn’t her life always been filled with these people, who love fierce and hard and without hesitation because they know that tomorrow is never guaranteed?</p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>“Duck!” Izzy shouts, just as the Raum demon takes a swipe at Clary’s head. Clary dives as Izzy uses her whip to yank one of its tentacles from its body. While Izzy is keeping it distracted, Clary uses both her kindjals to stab it where its heart would be if it were an animal. It explodes into embers. The simulation fades. Clary shoves her kindjals back in her belt and takes the hand Izzy offers to pull her up.<br/>Lydia claps slowly, a regal smile on her face. “Congratulations,” she says. “Isabelle Lightwood, Clary Fairchild, you have passed the final <em>parabatai</em> test. Soon you will undergo the parabatai ceremony, where your bond will be cemented.”<br/>Clary, still holding Izzy’s hand, turns to her. She is grinning. <br/>Izzy turns to Lydia. “Thanks again for doing this.”<br/>“Of course. You guys needed a Clave official to oversee the tests, and I needed an excuse to come visit.”<br/>“We were just going to get dinner with Jace and Simon, if you wanted to join us?”<br/>She shakes her head. “Duty calls. I’ll see you at the ceremony.” <br/>Clary watches Lydia walk away in that regal way of hers; head held high, back straight, every step swift and calculated. Clary wouldn’t be surprised if Lydia was named Consul after Jia’s term has ended. She never needed Alec to rise through the ranks. She can do that all by herself.</p>
<p>Clary and Izzy change out of their training gear and head over to Taki’s, where Jace and Simon are sitting in a booth. If two years ago, you’d have told Clary that she could leave them alone and come back to see them being friendly, she’d say you were insane. Hell, if you told her that she could leave them alone without <em>fighting</em>, she’d say you were insane. But there they are, Simon insulting Jace and Jace pretending to be hurt. <br/>“Hey,” she says, sliding in beside him. <br/>He winds an arm around her waist. Since they got engaged, she’s noticed that he’s never beside her without touching her in some way, almost as if he can’t help himself. “How was the test?”<br/>“Piece of cake,” Izzy answers for her. <br/>“Well, when you’ve killed Lilith, what’s a couple itty-bitty demons?” Simon quips. He gestures to Clary. “Not to mention this one defeated the world’s only Shadowhunter-Greater demon hybrid.”<br/>Clary feels herself tense. Jace reaches for her hand under the table, squeezing gently. <br/>Jonathan is still a difficult subject for her, and one that she has had more than a few nightmares about. Most people, even those close to her, forget that he wasn’t just a demon to her. He was her brother, her boy in the tower, the one she couldn’t save. He was also the boy who tormented her, violated her, tore her from the people she loved.<br/>In an instant, it is too much.<br/>Her heart begins to race and her throat tightens. It is suddenly much too difficult to breathe. “Excuse me,” she gasps, leaping from her seat. </p>
<p>Her vision blurs as she brushes past a confused Maia and bursts through the doors. She paces across the gravel, gulps lungfuls of air, but it is not enough. Of its own volition her body drops to a crouch, hands clenched tightly into fists. Jonathan’s voice echoes in her head.<br/><em>Everything I do, I do for you.</em><br/><em>You and I. . . we’re one.</em><br/><em>Clary, you’re hurting me.</em><br/><em>Let me go.</em><br/>A sob breaks free. She dimly registers footsteps, and strong arms pulling her into an embrace. <br/>“Jace, I can’t <em>breathe-</em>” she sobs, and the tightness in her chest builds until she thinks she might explode.<br/>“I’m here, I’m right here,” he whispers. “I’ve got you.” He gently unclenches her left hand and places it on his chest so it rises and falls with his breath. “You feel that? Follow my breathing. Nice and slow.”<br/>She does as he says, her head pressed into his shoulder. She can hear his heartbeat, strong and steady. She lets it soothe her. <br/>Soon, she can breathe again. <br/>She pulls away from Jace so she can look into his eyes. “I’m sorry, I don’t know-”<br/>He runs his thumb across her cheekbone. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”<br/>She lets her hand drop from his chest. She notices little drops of blood on his white T-shirt where her hand was. She has a sudden pang of terror that she’s hurt him. “Did I scratch you?”<br/>He shakes his head, a quizzical expression on his face. He turns her hand over. On her palm are four crescent-shaped cuts, corresponding with four bloodstained nails. He examines her right hand. It has identical wounds. Without saying a word, he gets out his stele to activate her iratze. Once the cuts are healed, he presses a kiss to each palm. <br/>“Do you think you can stand?” he asks.<br/>She nods, letting him pull her up. His arm stays around her shoulders. She looks back at Taki’s. Izzy and Simon stand just outside the entrance, looking concerned. <br/>“Clary, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to bring anything up,” Simon says. His face, always so open and honest, is flooded with guilt.<br/>“It’s okay, Si. I’m okay.” She turns to Izzy. “You still sure you wanna be my <em>parabatai?</em>” She’s only half joking.<br/>“More than ever,” Izzy says firmly.</p>
<p>Later that night, she’s a lot less certain. She asks Clary to open a Portal to Alec and Magnus’ for her, and Clary - sweet, kind Clary, who is still exhausted from what happened earlier - agrees to help without a second thought. <br/>When she steps through, Alec is standing there with a seraph blade in his hand, ready for battle. He relaxes instantly when he realises it’s her. “Oh, hey, Iz. What’s going on?”<br/>“<em>ShouldIreallybeClary’sparabatai?</em>” The words come out in a rush.<br/>“What?”<br/>“Should I really be Clary’s <em>parabatai?</em>”<br/>“Where’s this coming from? You just passed the final test; you should be excited.”<br/>Izzy flops on the couch, and Alec joins her. “Clary had a panic attack this afternoon. It was about Jonathan, I think. She’s okay now, Jace helped her through it, but-”<br/>“But what?”<br/>“I had no idea what to do. She was in so much pain, and I had no clue how to help her. I just stood there and watched Jace as he took care of her. He knew exactly how to calm her down.” Her eyes meet his. “What if Jace is the only person who can help her? What if I never figure out how? Or worse, what if we become <em>parabatai</em> and our bond makes me so overwhelmed by her feelings that I’m completely useless?”<br/>Alec sets his hand on his sister’s shoulders. “Hey. You are <em>not</em> going to be useless. Jace knew what to do because it’s happened before, and because he knows Clary better than he knows himself. You will, too, after the ceremony. Your bond with her is different, but it’s no less important. You’re sisters, in all but blood.” <br/>“But-”<br/>“No buts. If she has another panic attack, you’ll help her through it, just as she would for you. You and Clary already make each other stronger. The ceremony only increases a bond that’s already there.”<br/>Izzy throws her arms around Alec; unlike him, she has never been reserved in giving affection. “Thanks, big brother.”<br/>“Anytime.”</p>
<p>When she returns to the Institute, she looks for Clary immediately. She finds her reading in the library. Her face is still drawn, but she smiles when Izzy comes in. “Hey, how was Alec’s?”<br/>Without warning, Izzy pulls her into a fierce, tight hug. “I can’t wait to be your <em>parabatai</em>,” she says.<br/>Clary’s arms lift to hug her back. “Me, too.”</p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>In the Great Hall of the Institute, there is a small gathering. A Silent Brother, a Clave official, and two witnesses, each standing opposite one another in a circle made of blue flame. Inside that circle, two young women stand facing each other, grasping onto one another’s forearms.</p>
<p>Several weeks from now, Clary will promise herself to Jace.<br/>Today, she promises herself to Izzy.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>Entreat me not to leave thee,</em><br/><em>Or return from following after thee—</em><br/><em>For whither thou goest, I will go,</em><br/><em>And where thou lodgest, I will lodge.</em><br/><em>Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.</em><br/><em>Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried.</em><br/><em>The Angel do so to me, and more also,</em><br/><em>If aught but death part thee and me.</em><br/>The rune burns Clary’s hip in the best possible way. As soon as it is complete, she feels different. She is still looking at Izzy, whose giddy expression mirrors her own. <br/>Clary laughs and, almost as if she can’t help herself, throws her arms around her best friend. Her <em>parabatai.</em>  </p>
<p>Much like Clary’s engagement party, her <em>parabatai</em> ceremony is a political affair. Izzy’s the head of the Institute, after all. It would have been a spectacle no matter who she took the oath with. At least half the Council is here, along with the Downworlder representatives Izzy meets with once a month, and nearly every Shadowhunter who works at the New York Institute. <br/>But their family is here, too, and they are the ones Clary and Izzy go to first.<br/>Jace and Simon are the first to reach the new pair. Jace murmurs a congratulations into Clary’s hair before going to hug Izzy. Almost as soon as he’s let go, Simon throws his arms around her. <br/>“Move over, boys, it’s our turn,” Maryse says, beaming as she pulls both girls into a hug. She steps aside so Luke can hug them as well.<br/>Once everyone has had their hugs, Izzy reaches for Clary’s hand, a bright smile on her face.<br/>Alec nudges Jace. “Look at them, they’re all goofy.”<br/>“I seem to remember the two of you acting just as goofy after your ceremony,” Maryse says, giving the two a pointed look.<br/>Clary laughs. She feels not only her joy but Izzy’s too; the echo of another heart beating in her chest beside her own.  </p>
<p>Izzy drags Clary around the various important people she has to greet, until her feet are sore and her cheeks ache from the polite smile she’s perfected. But she doesn’t care.<br/>She has a <em>parabatai.</em><br/>Tomorrow, Jace and Alec will teach them how to use their bond in battle, and how to control the how much they give and take from each other. But today, it’s enough just to have Izzy by her side. </p>
<p>Clary and Izzy’s <em>parabatai</em> ceremony isn’t the only important event in her life right now; she’s getting married in less than a month. Even though sometimes it seems like Izzy is more interested in planning it than either Clary or Jace, there are a few touches that the two of them have decided on. Like their plan to have an empty seat on the front row with a white camellia on it, Jocelyn’s favourite flower. <br/>Jace mentions another special touch one afternoon, a week and a half after Clary and Izzy’s ceremony. She is sitting up on his bed, reading The Art of War as he lies perpendicular to her, his head in her lap. She cards her fingers through his hair absently while she reads.<br/>He sits up, rolling onto his stomach so he’s propped up on his forearms. “Hey.”<br/>“Mm?” <br/>“You know how Shadowhunters give jewellery as part of the wedding ceremony?”<br/>“Yeah, before they Mark each other. Why?”<br/>“I was thinking, maybe we could give each other wedding rings.”<br/>She puts the book down to look at him with a puzzled expression. “Shadowhunters don’t wear wedding rings.”<br/>“No, but mundanes do, and that’s what you were raised as.” He takes her hand, runs his thumb across her knuckles. “Look, you’re a Shadowhunter, but that’s not all you are. The mundane parts of you, they make you you. And I just wanted our wedding to acknowledge that. Besides, I know it won’t be like you imagined it as a child, so maybe the rings can connect your old and new lives.”<br/>A single tear slides down her cheek. Without wiping it away, Clary leans down to press a kiss to Jace’s lips. “How did I get so lucky?” she asks, an easy smile on her face.<br/>“Uh, you followed me into a demon hunt.”<br/>She laughs and leans in to kiss him again.</p>
<p>But wedding planning isn’t all sweetness and light. Sometimes, it’s compromising. And sometimes, it’s Imogen Herondale stomping all over everything, albeit well-meaningly. Since the planning began, Imogen has been trying to convince Jace that the wedding he and Clary want is not a wedding fit for Shadowhunter royalty. Well, she technically hasn’t said the royalty part, but he can hear it in every pointed comment about the decor or the music or the guest list. <br/>He gets another fire message from her during a training session with Simon. He catches it in midair while still blocking his punches. <br/>Though Jace says nothing, Simon can see the subtle changes in his expression; the furrowed brow, the exasperated puff of air that escapes his mouth. Simon wonders when he got to know Jace well enough to see those changes. “Everything good?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.<br/>“It’s fine. I just need to talk to Clary for a minute. Can we cut training short today?”<br/>“My motivation says no, but my bruises say hell yes. Go find your fiancée.”</p>
<p>He finds her in Izzy’s office discussing their next mission. Jace feels a little pang of jealousy that Clary is able to be this close to her parabatai all the time. Even though Alec is only a Portal away, and comes to the Institute for dinner at least once a week, it’s not the same as being able to see or talk or spar with him whenever he wants. He feels the distance between them through their bond, like having him in view but being just out of reach.  <br/>He knocks on the open door. Both Clary and Izzy turn to look at him.<br/>“Hey,” Clary says, the smile she has reserved for him on her face. “I thought you were training Simon.”<br/>He holds up the fire message. “Got interrupted.”<br/>“Ooh, that means Simon’s free,” Izzy says, abandoning her seat and moving towards the door. <br/>“I thought you were working,” Jace says.<br/>“Shut up, I’m the boss!” she yells as she darts out of the room.<br/>Jace sits on the couch next to Clary. He hands her the fire message. “Imogen is convinced that the Institute isn’t important enough for a Herondale wedding. She wants us to have it in the Grand Hall in Alicante.”<br/>“I like the Institute. It’s home.”<br/>“That’s what I said.” He sighs, running his hands through his hair. “I wouldn’t have invited her if I’d have known she was gonna try to control everything.”<br/>“Hey. I’m glad your grandmother is coming. One of us should have biological family at our wedding.” Her eyes flit to her reflection in the window in front of her. She looks at herself in that way she does sometimes, like she’s trying to find the parts of herself that come from her mother.<br/>“I wish your mom could be there,” Jace says quietly. “I wish everything happened differently with Jonathan.”<br/>“I wish a lot of things about my family.” She reaches for his hand, holding it in both of her own and giving it a gentle tug. “But in two weeks, <em>you’ll</em> be my family. And that is all I need.”<br/>He smiles softly. “I can’t wait to be your husband.”<br/>“I can’t wait to be your wife.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The days pass quickly, as they do when you’re planning a wedding and fighting demons every day. Before they know it, it is the night before their wedding. Clary and Jace have chosen to forgo the bachelor and bachelorette parties that are becoming increasingly popular in the Shadow World, both agreeing that getting drunk and seeing strippers is not how they want to spend their last night as single people. Instead, they have dinner with their respective <em>parabatais.</em> Izzy calls both Clary and Jace ‘old people’, while Alec is much happier not to have to plan anything or pretend to be nice to people he couldn’t care less about. And if Izzy makes Clary wear a sash that says BRIDE in shimmering pink letters, well, no one can deny her that. <br/>After they return to the Institute, she showers, says goodnight to Jace and crawls into bed. Her own bed, in her own room, for the last time. Jace’s is bigger, so she’ll move in there after the wedding.<br/>She stares at the ceiling.<br/>These are her last hours as Clary Fairchild.<br/>As of tomorrow, she will be Clary Herondale.<br/>She smiles softly.<br/>Izzy bursts through the door, wearing satin pyjama pants and a T-shirt that is clearly Simon’s.  “Scooch over,” she says, nudging Clary over so she can crawl into bed beside her.<br/>“What are you doing?”<br/>“What does it look like? We’re having a sleepover.”<br/>“Why?”<br/>She fluffs up her pillow and flops back down. “Because this is the last night we can have one without it being weird. Once you get married, Jace is the only person you’re allowed to sleep next to.”<br/>“Says who?”<br/>“Says Jace. He’s a little obsessed with you, you know.”<br/>The side of Clary’s mouth quirks up. “I know. I’m a little obsessed with him, too.”<br/>“So this is it, then. The only boy you’re ever gonna gossip with me about is my idiot brother.”<br/>“Yep.”<br/>Izzy’s head rolls to face Clary’s. “Are you happy?”<br/>She smiles automatically. “So happy.”<br/>Izzy’s own smile widens. “I can feel it. Just wanted to make sure.”<br/>“You know everyone says it’s normal to be scared the night before your wedding. But I’m not scared at all. I love Jace, and I know that we can face anything as long as we’re together.”<br/>“I mean, you kind of already have faced everything. Thinking you’re siblings, check. Evil father, check. Him literally dying, check. Am I missing anything here?”<br/>“Uh, Jace being possessed and throwing me off a rooftop, check. Being connected to my resurrected half-demon brother, check. Getting my memory stolen and returned by angels, check.”<br/>Izzy laughs. “You guys really have been through the ringer, huh?”<br/>“We have. But we made it.”<br/>“You did.” She grabs her hand. “I hope your life together is easy, Clary. The Angel knows you at least deserve that.”<br/>“Thanks, Iz.”<br/>Clary falls asleep peacefully beside her <em>parabatai,</em> dreaming of the life that is inches away from being hers.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The life of a Shadowhunter is short, usually violent and filled with pain and struggle. Thus, any small moment of happiness is celebrated with great joy. A wedding is no different. Today, the halls of the New York Institute are filled with life. The ops centre has a select few on guard, and the bare minimum of people in the field. The rest of the Institute has a day off to join in the celebration. <br/>Away from the noise, in her bedroom, Isabelle helps Clary get ready. She does her makeup and sweeps her hair away from her face in an elegant low bun. She helps zip Clary into her dress. It is simple; the colour of pale gold, with thin straps and delicate gold lace detailing on the V-necked bodice, the skirt gently flaring out to the floor. Izzy adjusts the opal pendant and steps back to admire her work with a satisfied smile. “Perfect.”<br/>“Thank you, Iz.”<br/>There’s a gentle knock on the door before it opens. Maryse slips inside, wearing an elegant burgundy dress and holding a small wooden box. “Luke’s almost ready, I just wanted to come see the bride. Oh, Clary, you look beautiful. How are you feeling? Nervous?”<br/>She shakes her head. “Jace is it for me. This just makes it official.”<br/>A fond expression settles on Maryse’s features. “You two were made for each other.” <br/>“Yeah, you were,” Izzy agrees.<br/>“I also came to give you something.” She holds out the box for Clary to open, revealing a delicate hair comb inlaid with diamonds. “This has been worn by every woman in my family on her wedding day for over a hundred years. I wore it on mine, Isabelle will wear it on hers, and you will wear it today.”<br/>“Maryse, it’s beautiful, but I can’t accept this.”<br/>“Of course you can.” She sets the box on the bed so she can grasp Clary’s hands. “I know you don’t have any biological family here today, but that doesn’t mean you’re alone. You do have a family, Clary. With us. No matter your surname, you and Jace are Lightwoods, too.”<br/>A tear rolls down Clary’s cheek, and when she speaks, her voice is choked. “Thank you.” <br/>Maryse hugs her and turns her around so she can slot the comb at the top of her bun. “There. Now all we have to do is get you down the aisle.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in his room, Jace wears a path in the floor as he paces back and forth. Alec watches this, somewhat amused.<br/>“I’m an idiot,” Jace is saying. <br/>“Yeah, you are,” Alec replies. “So?”<br/>“No, Alec, I don’t think you understand. I’m an <em>idiot</em>. I throw myself into danger without a second thought. I wore a leather jacket to Hell. Who in their right mind would marry me?”<br/>“No one ever said Clary was in her right mind.”<br/>He stops pacing to point an accusing finger at his parabatai. “Don’t you dare insult her.”<br/>Alec holds back a laugh. “Hey, pre-wedding jitters are normal.”<br/>“Have you met me? Nothing about my life is normal.”<br/>“This is. For a solid minute before I married Magnus, I genuinely considered climbing out the window and running away.” Alec stands up and sets his hands on Jace’s shoulders. “Look at me. Do you love Clary?”<br/>“More than anything,” he says reflexively. <br/>“Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her?”<br/>“Without a doubt.”<br/>“There’s your answer. You’ll figure the rest out.”<br/>Jace nods. “Yeah. You’re right. Yeah.” A wide smile breaks out on his face, almost as if he can’t help it. “I’m getting <em>married</em> today, Alec.”<br/>Alec’s own smile widens. “Yeah, you are. But not like this, so get dressed.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, the time has arrived. The guests are seated and the music is playing. Jace stands at the altar with Alec to his right and Brother Zachariah is to his left, ready to perform the ceremony. <br/>Behind the doors, Clary stands, waiting for her cue. <br/>“You know, it’s not too late to back out,” Luke says. “Say the word and I’ll send everyone away, pretend this whole thing never happened.”<br/>She shakes her head, a smirk on her face. “I’m good, but thanks for the offer.”<br/>His voice shakes, not much, just enough for her to know that he’s trying not to cry. “You’re my daughter. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”<br/>“I love you, Luke.” She launches herself into his arms, bouquet and all. “Thank you for doing this.”<br/>“No place I’d rather be,” he says. <br/>Izzy makes a pointed gesture at him as she disappears behind the doors to walk down the aisle. He lets go of Clary and helps smooth down her dress. He offers his arm, which she takes. “You ready?” he asks. <br/>Her voice is steady, and her stance is strong. “I have never been more ready for anything in my life.”<br/>He smiles. “I’m proud of you, kiddo.” He pushes the door open, and then they’re walking.</p>
<p>She doesn’t see the flowers decorating the aisle, or the rows of friends and colleagues watching her, or the altar where she will soon be married.<br/>All she sees is Jace.<br/>A disbelieving look dawns on his face, like he can’t hope to understand how he got here. <br/>And in his eyes, she sees everything.<br/>Their past, a past of pain and hurt and terror but also of love and light and joy.<br/>Their future, one that she will fight for as long as she lives.<br/>At last, she reaches him. She takes his hands as Luke kisses her cheek, an I love you murmured into her hair.<br/>As it always has, his grip steadies her.</p>
<p>Brother Zachariah begins the ceremony. She barely registers what he’s saying, too busy taking in the feel of her small hands in Jace’s warm, calloused ones. <br/>Alec and Izzy offer Jace and Clary the rings. Both have the signature silvery sheen of pure <em>adamas</em>. Jace slides hers on her finger with a nervous smile, and squeezes her hand after she’s done the same to him. <br/>“Now,” Brother Zachariah says, “Jace Herondale and Clarissa Fairchild will Mark each other with the wedded union rune. A rune on the hand, a rune on the heart. A union is born.”<br/>Jace goes first. He takes his stele from Alec’s outstretched hand and Marks the first rune, the one on her wrist. The other, the one on her heart, will be Marked later tonight, away from prying eyes. She tries to commit every second of the icy burn of the stele, and the words that Jace repeats after Brother Zachariah, to memory: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death.”<br/>Once he is done, he quirks an eyebrow at her, not obvious enough for anyone but her to notice. “No backing out now,” he murmurs.<br/>She smiles, and takes the stele - her mother’s - that Isabelle offers her. “Never,” she murmurs back. She takes his hand to steady it as she Marks him, and repeats the vow herself. <br/>Brother Zachariah smiles. “Jace Herondale, Clarissa Adele Fairchild, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”<br/>Without waiting for his cue, Jace kisses her, his wife, one hand on her waist and the other behind her neck as he dips her. She laughs into his mouth.<br/>They’re one now. <br/>Today and forever.</p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>The music is soft and slow. Jace’s hands are at Clary’s waist and hers are at his neck as they sway gently. <br/>“So, Mrs. Herondale, how are you enjoying the party?” Jace says. <br/>“Oh, I’m having a grand old time, and you, Mr. Herondale?”<br/>“I have never been happier.”  <br/>Her smile widens. “Same here.”<br/>“You know, I didn’t think we’d make it this far.”<br/>“Me neither. But we did, so screw you, Raziel.”<br/>“Clary,” he hisses. <br/>“What? I have the Mark of Ithuriel, remember? I could yell obscenities and set fire to an effigy of him and he wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about it.”<br/>“Just ’cause you can doesn’t mean you should.” He smirks. “Although I would like to see that.”<br/>“After everything he put us through, he deserves it.”<br/>He tilts his forehead against hers, so they are sharing one another’s air. “I love you. Angel-bashing and all.”<br/>“I love you, too.” She kisses him softly; only their second as husband and wife. She barely hears the applause as it starts slowly, until she pulls away from Jace to see every one of their guests staring at them. <br/>Luke holds up his glass, beaming at them. “To the bride and groom,” he says. The sentiment is echoed throughout the room. </p>
<p>Eventually, Clary and Jace must leave the bubble of the dance floor. And when they do, two of their favourite people are waiting for them.<br/>“So you guys are really married,” Simon says by way of greeting.<br/>Izzy, making one of those squeaky girl noises of excitement, not-so-gently nudges him out of the way to hug the happy couple. First her <em>parabatai,</em> then her brother. She has hugged them both at least twice already in the past few hours: once right after the ceremony, and again after they officially wrote their names in the book of marriages that the Institute keeps. “I’m so happy for you!” she says. <br/>Simon shoos her out of the way so he can hug Clary himself. “Congrats, Fray.”<br/>“That’s Herondale to you,” Jace says. <br/>Simon grins. “Clary Herondale. Has a nice ring to it.”<br/>“I think so,” Clary replies, a bright smile on her face. She’s pretty sure her cheeks will be sore tomorrow, because she has never smiled this much in her life. <br/>“Biscuit!” Magnus proclaims, throwing his arms around her from behind and giving her an exaggerated kiss on the cheek. Without letting go of her, he gives an approving nod to Jace. “Mr. Biscuit. Congratulations on your nuptials.”<br/>“Oh, I am gonna call you Mr. Biscuit for the rest of your <em>life,</em>” Simon laughs.<br/>“Why do you hate me?” Jace asks plaintively. “Magnus is who he is, but you don’t have to make fun of me.”<br/>“Get used to it, Jace, he’s practically your brother-in-law,” Alec says, clapping him on the shoulder. <br/>Simon makes an odd choked noise in the back of his throat. <br/>Alec rolls his eyes. “I meant that you’re practically Clary’s brother, bloodsucker. Stay away from my sister.”<br/>Just to annoy her brother, Isabelle drapes herself over Simon’s side, leaning her head on his shoulder. <br/>Rolling his eyes again, Alec turns his attention to Clary. “Hey, can we talk for a second?”</p>
<p>Clary lets him lead her away to a more secluded spot in the Hall. “I wanted to thank you,” he says.<br/>“For what?”<br/>“You didn’t see it, but before you came along, Jace just threw himself headlong into whatever battle he could find. He was so cavalier about death, almost like he was living for the fight no matter which way it ended. And then he met you, and he had something to fight for. Someone he had to stay alive for. It made him actually think before he leapt. So thank you for that.”<br/>“He’s it for me, too, you know. My something to fight for.”<br/>“I know.” Suddenly, he is nervous, which is always an odd thing to see on Alec Lightwood-Bane, the solid, stoic Inquisitor. <br/>“Was there something else?” Clary asks.<br/>He fidgets with his hands, looks down at them before darting his eyes back up to hers. “I need to apologise.”<br/>She furrows her eyebrows, tilting her head slightly. <br/>“I didn’t treat you the best when you first got here. I made you feel unwelcome in a place that should’ve felt like your home from the start, and I never apologised for that.”<br/>Her expression softens. “It’s okay, Alec. I know you. You’re fiercely protective of your family. You were only mean to me because you saw me as a threat to them.”<br/>“Well, you’re my family now, so get ready to feel protected.” He envelops her in a bear hug. He’s much taller than her, so her head leans against the middle of his sternum. And she does feel protected; safe, like Lucifer himself could enter the room and she wouldn’t be afraid. <br/>“I’ve never had a brother, not really,” she mumbles into his dress shirt. She thinks of Jonathan; the boy who was her brother biologically but not in any way that counted.<br/>Alec’s arms tighten around her. “Now you do,” he replies.  </p>
<p>Jace is still talking to Simon, Izzy and Magnus when Maryse pulls him away, dragging him towards the dance floor. “Let me dance with my son on his wedding day,” she says. It’s clear that he has no choice in the matter, so he leads them gently, swaying to the soft music.<br/>Maryse sets a hand on his cheek. Her eyes shine with unshed tears. “My beautiful boy,” she says. “I may not have given you life, but it has been a privilege to watch you grow up.”<br/>Jace’s hand covers hers. “Thank you, Mom.” <br/>His gaze shifts slightly to her left. She follows it to see Clary, now talking to the newly-engaged Helen and Aline. “I see how happy she makes you,” she says. “She makes you a better person.”<br/>“She really does.”<br/>A single tear falls, but she doesn’t push it away. “That is everything a mother could want for her son.”<br/>Jace leans down to hug her tight. “I love you,” he says.<br/>“I love you, too.”<br/>Maryse watches as he floats off the dance floor - she never imagined that her brash, strong son would ever <em>float</em> - and kisses his bride’s cheek, his entire face lighting up when she turns her attention to him. <br/>Luke appears behind Maryse, winding his strong arms around her. <br/>“They look so happy, don’t they?” she says softly.<br/>“They’re not the only ones,” he replies, pressing a kiss to her hair.<br/>She wishes she could freeze this moment and live in it forever. </p>
<p>But that’s not how the world works, especially in their line of work. Less than five minutes later, Jace watches as Raj, one of the people monitoring the ops centre, runs up to Isabelle. Though he can’t hear what he’s saying, he can see his wild gestures and his frantic expression, pupils blown wide.<br/>Something’s wrong. <br/>Izzy immediately snaps into boss mode, marching swiftly up to the DJ and taking over the microphone. “There is a horde of Raum demons wreaking havoc in Queens. I need every able-bodied Shadowhunter and trained Downworlder to get their gear and weapons and meet in the ops centre.”<br/>Shadowhunters are good at celebrating, but they are even better at responding to a call to arms. Without preamble or panic, people march out of the hall, with those who can’t fight gathering to see how else they can help. Clary watches Simon follow Izzy; though he can’t yet join the hunt himself, she knows he will stay by her side helping her direct people until she leaves the Institute.<br/>Jace squeezes her hand. “Any chance I can convince you to stay here?”<br/>“We’re Shadowhunters. This is what we do.”<br/>A puff of air escapes his lips. “I was hoping it wouldn’t be what we do <em>today,</em> but I guess I should be grateful that we actually got to get married first.”<br/>She chuckles, holds up their linked hands to show the new rune on his wrist. “We did.”<br/>“Meet you in the hallway after you get ready, Mrs. Herondale?”<br/>“Of course, Mr. Herondale.”</p>
<p>Jace gets ready quickly, exchanging his tuxedo for his much more protective gear, and slotting two seraph blades and his stele into his holster. <br/>He laughs to himself, almost sarcastically.<br/>Of course.<br/>Of course the first thing they do as husband and wife is fend off a demon attack.<br/>He really shouldn’t be surprised at this point.</p>
<p>He waits in the hallway for Clary, and senses, more than sees, that she’s coming.<br/>She marches purposefully towards him. She has changed from her wedding dress into her gear, a kindjal in each hand and her stele and seraph blade tucked into her holster. But there are still fragments of the woman who walked down the aisle less than four hours ago; her hair and makeup are still in place, the ring he put on her finger remains, and the wedded union rune sits on her wrist, jet-black and permanent. His mouth quirks up in a half-smile.<br/>“What?” she asks.<br/>“I just realised I like you as much in gear as I do in that gold dress.”<br/>She rolls her eyes. “Just know that you’re not allowed to divorce me when you see me in sweatpants.”<br/>He laughs, and it feels good, warm and alive in his chest. “I love you so much.”<br/>Her smile is worth everything.</p>
<p>Less than ten minutes later, they are in the middle of the fight. It’s a strange place for a battlefield, Jace thinks, an empty street in the industrial district of Queens, beneath an overpass. All mundanes have been ushered away thanks to glamours showing a construction barricade. He swings at one of the Raum demons, severing a tentacle while Alec shoots an arrow into the head, killing it instantly. Out of the corner of his eye, Jace can see Clary battling a demon of her own. Izzy slashes at its body with her whip, distracting it enough for Clary to draw the sunlight rune on her hand and kill it. Almost as if she can feel him staring at her, she turns to him, just for a moment.<br/>She is beautiful, his bride, standing in a warrior’s stance with blood on her face and ichor on her clothes. <br/>He loses sight of her at some point during the fight; it’s impossible to tell when. The streets are a cacophony of demons and Shadowhunters and the Downworlders fighting beside them. He catches a glimpse of Maia in wolf form, leaping for a demon who has cornered a Shadowhunter whose name he doesn’t know. In the midst of the fray, he can see the blue sparks of Catarina’s magic, indicating that she is holding her own.<br/>And then it’s over, almost as abruptly as it started. The amount of Raum demons gets smaller and smaller, until the few that are left are easily dispatched by a few well-aimed stabs of a seraph blade. Jace scans what remains of the battlefield for Clary, but he doesn’t see her. Shadowhunters draw <em>iratzes</em> on themselves and each other, werewolves and vampires remain still as their injuries slowly knit back together, and warlocks help anyone that cannot do so themselves. Healed wounds leave their mark in the form of bloodstains: on clothes, on skin, on hair.<br/>He still can’t see her.<br/>“Jace!”<br/>He turns around, and all the blood returns to his body, making him lightheaded with relief. She is running towards him and she is bruised and bloody and <em>alive</em>. She shoves her daggers into her holster and throws herself into his arms. He lifts her up for a second before returning her to the ground. <br/>“Are you okay?” she asks, her hands moving from his arms to his neck to his face, checking for injuries.<br/>He is doing the same to her. “I’m fine. Are you?”<br/>“I-” Her breath is coming out in sharp pants. “I couldn’t see you. I was terrified something happened to you.”<br/>Despite everything, despite the blood and the dirt and the ichor, he kisses her, a short, firm kiss that says I’m here. “I felt the same way about you.”<br/>She collapses into his chest, clings to his forearms, lets her breathing even out. “Can we go somewhere without demons for our honeymoon?”<br/>“Wherever you want,” he promises. </p>
<p>Clary helps Magnus and the other warlocks Portal everyone to either their homes or the Institute, before taking Jace’s hand and stepping through herself. All senior operatives of the Institute must meet at the ops centre to debrief and take stock of any missing or damaged weapons. It is a laborious process, but necessary, especially after a hunt as big as this one. <br/>Izzy smirks at the way Clary and Jace remain pressed against one another, even while reviewing separate documents. “Okay, lovebirds, I can take it from here. You are free to go.”<br/>“Thank you,” Jace sighs, immediately taking Clary’s hand and leading her away.</p>
<p>Jace and Clary go into his room - <em>their</em> room, now - where they help one another wash the blood and ichor off. Clary undoes her hair, which by now is little more than a messy, low bun, and washes her face while Jace leaves the bathroom, presumably to remove his gear. When she emerges from it herself, she can’t help but laugh.<br/>Jace is sitting on the edge of the bed, having only managed to remove his shirt, looking completely and utterly exhausted. He runs his hands over his face and groans. “I know people say your wedding day is tiring but this is <em>ridiculous.</em>”<br/>She kicks off her shoes and joins him. “Well, most people don’t fight a horde of demons on their wedding night. Where I grew up, anyway. Is it a common occurrence for Shadowhunters?”<br/>“Not as common as you’d think. The universe just hates us.”<br/>“It has to like us at least a little bit. I mean, we’re here now, right?”<br/>“True.” He leans in and kisses her, slow and sweet. He pulls back. “I’m sorry, just- do you mind, if we don’t- you know, tonight? I’m <em>so tired.</em>”<br/>She laughs again, kisses his cheek. “Not at all. Right now, I would love nothing more than to go to sleep with my husband.”<br/>He smiles softly. “There’s something we have to do first.” He stands up and pulls her with him, so they’re facing each other. He gets his stele from his holster, and she remembers.<br/><em>Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death. </em><br/>Her eyes don’t leave his as he draws the rune carefully. She doesn’t flinch, even though it burns. Permanent runes hurt more than temporary ones, maybe because they mean more. <br/>This one means everything.<br/>“This,” he says, “is a promise. That you are mine, and I am yours. Forever.”<br/>She takes the stele from him so she can Mark him, too. “Until the day I die, and after that,” she murmurs.<br/>They shed their layers of gear, put on their pyjamas, and crawl into bed, her head on his chest and his arm encircling her waist. He kisses her temple. <br/>Clary’s own words echo in her head. <br/><em>Until the day I die, and after that.</em><br/>She likes the sound of that.</p>
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